Patent
Methods and apparatus to monitor and control hard-disk head position
| العنوان: | Methods and apparatus to monitor and control hard-disk head position |
|---|---|
| Patent Number: | 7,830,765 |
| تاريخ النشر: | November 09, 2010 |
| Appl. No: | 11/726532 |
| Application Filed: | March 22, 2007 |
| مستخلص: | Methods and apparatus to monitor and control hard-disk drive head position are described. In one example, a hard-disk drive system includes a hard-disk drive platter, a hard-disk drive read head configured to read information from the hard-disk drive platter, and a hard-disk drive head position controller configured to a receive a signal via the hard-disk drive read head and to determine if the received signal indicates that a distance between the hard-disk drive platter and the hard-disk drive is less than a predetermined distance and to vary a temperature of the read head based on the determination. |
| Inventors: | Mukai, Hiroyuki (Yokohama, JP) |
| Assignees: | Texas Instruments Incorporated (Dallas, TX, US) |
| Claim: | 1. A method for controlling a fly height of a head in a hard disk drive, the method comprising the steps of: determining a read signal envelope reflective of a proximity of the head to a disk; determining whether the read signal envelope traverses a threshold; repeating the step of determining a read signal envelope reflective of the proximity of the head to the disk when it is determined that the read signal envelope did not traverse the threshold; providing modulation detection when it is determined that the read signal envelope did traverse the threshold, wherein the modulation detection is indicative of a resonance effect between the head and the disk. |
| Claim: | 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising controlling a heater for altering the fly height in response to providing modulation detection. |
| Claim: | 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising obtaining the read signal before determining a read signal envelope. |
| Claim: | 4. The method of claim 1 , wherein providing modulation detection further comprises determining whether the head is resonating with the disk. |
| Claim: | 5. The method of claim 4 , wherein determining whether the head is resonating with the disk further comprises determining whether the head is too physically close to the disk. |
| Claim: | 6. A hard-disk drive system, comprising: a hard-disk drive platter; a hard-disk drive read head for reading information from the hard-disk drive platter and producing a read signal; a peak detector for transmitting a peak signal envelope representative of peaks in the read signal; a device for transmitting an amplified, buffered signal in response to receiving the peak signal envelope, wherein the device amplifies and buffers the peak signal envelope; and a comparator for receiving the amplified, buffered signal and a reference signal representative of when the hard-disk drive read head is physically close to the hard-disk drive platter, wherein the comparator is operative for comparing the amplified, buffered signal with the reference signal and transmitting an output signal with transitions that indicate modulation resulting from resonance in the amplified, buffered signal. |
| Claim: | 7. The hard-disk system of claim 6 , further comprising a heating element proximate the hard-disk drive read head and operative for controlling the position of the hard-disk drive read head. |
| Claim: | 8. The hard-disk drive head position controller of claim 6 , wherein the output signal has a duty cycle that indicates a height of the head with respect to the hard disk drive platter. |
| Claim: | 9. A hard-disk drive head position controller, comprising: a peak detector for transmitting a peak signal envelope representative of peaks in a received signal; an amplifier/filter coupled to receive the peak signal envelope and operative for transmitting an amplified signal; a buffer coupled to receive the amplified signal and operative for transmitting a buffered signal; a comparator for receiving the buffered signal and a reference signal representative of when a head is physically close to a platter, the comparator operative for comparing the amplified, buffered signal with the reference signal and transmitting an output signal with transitions that indicate modulation resulting from resonance in the amplified, buffered signal. |
| Claim: | 10. The hard-disk drive head position controller of claim 9 , wherein the modulation indicates whether a head is too close to a disk. |
| Claim: | 11. The hard-disk drive head position controller of claim 10 , wherein the output signal has a duty cycle that indicates a height of the head with respect to the disk. |
| Claim: | 12. The hard-disk drive head position controller of claim 9 , further comprising a heating element proximate a hard-disk drive read head for controlling the position of the hard-disk drive read head in response to receiving the output signal. |
| Current U.S. Class: | 369/5/338 |
| Patent References Cited: | 6411458 June 2002 Billings et al. 2005/0105204 May 2005 Bloodworth et al. 2007/0058280 March 2007 Wada et al. |
| Other References: | Brian E. Schultz, “Thermal Fly-height Control (TFC) Technology in Hitachi Hard Disk Drives”, Hitachi Inspire the Next, www.hitachigst.com, 2006 Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, pp. 1-4. cited by other |
| Primary Examiner: | Huber, Paul |
| Attorney, Agent or Firm: | Stephens, Dawn V. Brady, III, Wade James Telecky, Jr., Frederick J. |
| رقم الانضمام: | edspgr.07830765 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | USPTO Patent Grants |
| الوصف غير متاح. |